Emory student sues school over suspension of award-winning AI tool

US News

by the Matthew Sedaka

An Emory University student is suing a Georgia college after he was suspended for creating an AI tool to help students study — the same tech innovation he won the school's startup competition for. Months after winning the prize.

Benjamin Craver, who just finished his junior year, claimed the school punished him and the co-founder of the program, known as Eightball, for allegedly violating the school's honor code, Emory. According to a lawsuit filed earlier this month in federal court in Atlanta.

Court records say the unexpected punishments come months after Emory encouraged — and even celebrated — the development of the student study tool.

Craver, 20, and another student developed the idea and an early version of the AI-powered study tool that will become Eightball in the fall of 2022. He entered the university's business school pitch competition.

The program they created allowed students to upload course materials to a private server, which would then produce study materials such as flashcards or practice exams, according to court records.

In January, the university's honor council claimed that Eightball violated school policy because it was created with the intention of helping students cheat, highlighting the fact that it was such a server. was linked to where professors post course material, according to court records.

Despite taking home the competition's first prize, including $10,000, in March 2023 for Eightball; receiving writing in the school newspaper; And after featuring the tool on the business school's website, Craver and his co-founder were suspended by Emory this year on claims they violated the university's honor code, according to court records. .

According to the suit, the Honor Council, however, did not accuse Craver or its co-founders of cheating, nor did they provide any evidence that students were using the Eightball to cheat.

Emory eventually suspended Craver for all but a semester and a summer, barring him from writing an honors thesis, delaying his graduation and potentially affecting his future career as a lawyer, court records show. I claimed.

“I was quite surprised,” Kraver told the Wall Street Journal.

“A suspension goes on your permanent record forever, basically. I'll always have that mark of academic dishonesty, which is troubling.”

Craver is seeking a jury trial with $75,000 in damages, according to the lawsuit, which he told The Journal his parents are financing.

He added that he also hopes the lawsuit will influence the university to reverse its decision and remove the suspension from its record.

Emory did not immediately respond to a request for comment.